Cycle saddle



March 16, 1943. H. E. KALTER 2,314,045

' CYCLE SADDLE I Filed March 20, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet l m3 ATTORNEY.

March 16, 1943. I H. E. KALTER CYCLE SADDLE Filed March 20, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

BY #Ma wz/ M a-w H/s ATTORNEY.

Mar-ch16, 1943. v H. E. KALTER CYCLE SADDLE Filed March 20, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet. 5

H' ATTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 16, 1943 CYCLE SADDLE Harold E. Kalter, Eiyria, Ohio, assignor to The Troxel Manufacturing Company, Elyria, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application March 20,1939, Serial No. 262,868

3 Claims. (Cl. 155-523) 1,156,184, and comprising, generally speaking, a

body of cushioning material interposed between the outer top covering of the saddle and the metal or other like saddle frame underlying such body of cushioning material, and of such a nature and so secured in place and to contiguous parts, as to resiliently yield to the riders weight and variations in pressure, from such weight during cycle riding activities of the rider.

The material is specially characterized by being formed from rubber latex, and is honeycombed with miniaturecells disposed throughout its mass, said cells normally containing air, and the cells being constrictedly interconnected through breaks in their walls, whereby air is expressed from such of the cells in portions of the body' where increase in pressure occurs, and

whereby, due to the resilient nature of the materials, other cells in other portions of the body where, at the moment pressure is being or has been reduced, air is drawn into such cells. In other words, during use different portions of the cushioning body are caused'to pump air into and out of the cushioning material, dependent upon whether or not the pressure exerted upon the body by the rider is increasing or decreasing.

Another object of my invention is to provide enclosing means for said cushioning body comprising outer layers of leather, or imitation leather, or suitably surfaced fabric material, and a relatively non-resilient supporting frame, with, in some cases, additional layers of fabric material, with the parts overlying the frame cemented to each other, and preferably also to the frame by a rubberlatex cement or aqueous rubthough in some cases this may be dispensed with.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved saddle of the type above indicated, with an underlying relatively rigid frame and overlying pliable cover, with an intermediate relatively thick body of foamed latex sponge material, which will be durable and which is formed in such manner as to provide a comfortable and well-appearing cycle saddle.

Other objects of my invention and the invention itself will become better understood by reference to the accompanying description of an embodiment thereof, and in which description reference is made to the accompanying drawings illustrating said embodiment.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a cycle saddle which is an embodiment of my invention, parts thereof being shown as broken away;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal medial sectional view of body; Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of the said cush- I ioning body;

Fig. 6 is a bottom plan view of said cushioning body;

Fig. 6A is a medial longitudinal vertical section of said cushioning body;

Fig. 7 is a side elevational view of the-saddle of Fig. 1- I Fig. 8 is a rear vertical section of the cushion- ,ing body taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 2;

Referring now to the drawings, and first referring particularly to Figs. 4, 5 and 6, illustrating the cushioning body per se, which in other figures is indicated at i, the said cushioning body may be molded from rubber latex material in accordance with the teachings of the previously identified patents, or in any other suitable way, and as so molded, is preferably given a formgenerally similar'to that of a cycle saddle.

The body is preferably of maximum thickness in the portions to be disposed nearest the rear or cantle 9 of the saddle, and of minimum thick ness in portions to be disposed nearest the front or pommel 8 thereof.

The cushioning body is also preferably gradually increased in thickness proceeding from the which is of greatest width, wherefrom, the more rearward portions 9 may be of approximately uniform thickness, the thickness in such rear portions being a plurality of times greater than the thickness in the portion adjacent the tip of the pommel.

As an example, as illustrated, I have made such rear portion in normal non-compressed, nonconstrained, form nearly 1 in thickness, whereas at a point, even about 1" rearwardly of the pommel tip which is of maximum thickness, the thickness of the material is approximately thick, the thickness progressively increasing from the tip of the pommel to the portion of the body which is of greatest width, and proceeding rearwardly therefrom, the body of cushioning material is substantially uniform in thickness, and of substantially the thickness at the portion of greatest width.

As shown by the bottom plan view of Fig. 6, the underside of said cushioning body is provided with a number of upwardly extending recesses l0, those nearer the pommel tip being relatively shallow and those nearer the rear or cantle portion being progressively depeened, until the portion of the body of maximum width is reached, wherefrom all rearwardly disposed recesses are preferably of uniform maximum depth, and the wall thickness at the ends of the recesses throughout the body being preferably of about the same thickness, other portions of the body contiguous to and between said recesses being of such varying thickness as previously described.

The recesses disposed in the pommel portion of the cushioning body, in the areas disposed forwardly of about the position of the third such recess may be omitted without any considerable attendant disadvantage, and other variations of size and depth of recesses may be made.

Preferably, also, in order to increase the resilient yielding effect of the cushioning material l, the recesses I0, above described, besides being rendered intercommunicating by intervening miniature constrictedly intercommunicating cells in the foamed latex cushioning material itself, disposed between them, have this quality of intercommunication further increased and extended by the provision of air channels H, extending between each of said recesses and adjacent recesses.

I show such channels II as interconnecting all of said recesses except the two most forward reoesses in the pommel portion of the cushioning material, where the desirability of a considerable degree of intercommunication is substantially less important, and therefore such channels are omitted as between said most forward recesses and between either; of said recesses and more rearwardly disposed recesses.

Such channels Il may be, as illustrated, bottom surface channels, or they may be in the form of perforations passing between the intervening walls of adjacent recesses ID. The surface channels II, as illustrated, are substantially bridged by the overlying layer of fabric material, without obstructing the channels. By the provision of such channels, or alternately by air ducts between recesses, air expressed from the cushioning material in a portion thereof exposed at the time to pressure, may readily be conveyed to other remote portions of the cushioning material through such channels and intervening recesses, where pressure is at the time being relieved. In this way, a ready supply of air is had for portip of the pommel 8 to the portion of the body tions of the material which are expanding due to relief of pressure. Thus, portions of the material which have been flattened down by pressure will almost immediately regain increased volume consequent to relief of the pressure.

Commonly, in saddle constructions, glue is employed to achieve adherence between the different layers of fabric material and the other parts of the saddle, such as the cushioning material, the covers which may also be of fabric material, and the frame 2 where such a frame is employed. In my improved saddle, particularly with respect to securing the upper surfaces of the cushioning body in adhesive contact with overlying layers of material, no glue is employed to cause these parts to be secured together; rubber latex material, either in the form of latex or an equivalent material, such as an aqueous rubber dispersion, is employed, for the reason that glue becomes hard, and, entering the interstices between fibers or threads of such material, causes the top of the saddle to become hard and non-pliable.

The saddle of my invention is preferably assembled in the following manner.

First, referring to the top cover, this preferably comprises a plurality of layers of sheet fabric material. The uppermost sheet of material 3 may be leather, which may be made quite thin, in such case being commonly known as split leather. Commonly, however, at the present time a good quality of strong, thin, closely woven textile material is employed, having its outer or top surface provided with a coating of a suitable water-proof material, which may be any of such materials as are commonly known as pyroxylin or rubberoid materials. For the purposes of this invention, the uppermost sheet of material may be of any preferred material such as grain leather, split leather, pyroxylincoated fabric, rubberized material, or other coated material. In any event, the outer layer 3 should preferably be water-proof, the underside of such a water-proof layer being then given a coat of latex, or an aqueous dispersion of rubber; the second or next underlying layer 4 of textile material, which may be sail-cloth, or other strong canvas material, preferably previously also having its upper surface coated with the same adhesive material, is applied to the underside of the first sheet of material 3.

In some cases, thereafter a third layer 5, of a coarser, more absorbent material, such as burlap fabric, is adhesively applied by the use of the same adhesive material, and in the same manner, to the underside of the second or sailcloth layer 4.

These three sheets of material, being superposed in proper relation as described, and with adhesive material applied to the contacting surfaces of each, are then placed into a forming mold to give the complete saddle cover the proper form for a cycle saddle top, being thereafter concavo-convex, and having the concavity extending upwardly from its lowermost border portions. The three adhesively bonded sheets of fabric material being originally of greater area than required for the purpose of the top, the area of the concavity therein is less than the top, the excess material extending laterally outwardly from the periphery of the concavity.

To the lower surface of the saddle top cover thus formed there is then applied another coating of the same adhesive material, and to the upper and lateral surfaces of the body of cushioning material I, previously described, a similar coating of said adhesive. material is also applied.

The. body of cushioning material I, having thegeneral form of the saddle, is placed in the concavity of the formed top cover. When so loosely placed, the thickness of the body cushioning material I will cause portions of such body to protrude above the peripheral edge of the said concavity in the said top cover.

The sheet metal stamping comprising the saddle metal frame 2, is then applied with its upper surface incontact with the bottom surface of the body cushioning material l. Adhesive material of the kind above mentioned may be applied to one or both of the contacting surfaces of the metal frame 2 and the body of cushioning material. In any event, however, it is preferable to coat the under concave side of the metal plate 2 with said adhesive material.

Prior to placement of the metal plate, said plate is preferably previously provided with threaded bolts l3 having their head portions riveted to the plate with their threaded ends extending downwardly therefrom, whereby thesaddle may later have aifixed to its underside the supporting means for the saddle, such as saddle springs, reach members, and the like, as i well understood in the art.

At this point, it may be pointed out that the adhesive materials previously mentioned have the property of remaining tacky fora considerable period after application, so that multi-layer saddle top covers, with or without the inserted foamed sponge cushioning material adhesively applied thereto, may be made up in advance for application to other parts later on, and this applies to the metal plate and the bottom covers for the saddle, which bottom covers are now to be described.

The bottom cover is preferably applied similarly to that of the top cover, comprising a sheet preferably of a plurality of superposed layers of fabric material, the outermost, i. e., the lowermost layer 1 having preferably a waterproof covering, there being, preferably, besides this water-proofed layer l of fabric material, at least one other layer ,6, of burlap, sail-cloth, or other canvas material.

These layers are adhesively secured together with the use of the same adhesive, and in the same manner as previously described for the top cover, and when adhesively secured together so as to make a compositely constructed unitary bottom cover for the saddle, enlarged openings are pierced therethrough to permit the bolts [3 to pass therethrough when the bottom cover is applied to the underside of the metal plate.

This bottom cover, before application to the underside of the metal frame 2, is preformed in a press between suitably shaped dies to provide a concavity on the bottom or water-proof side of the layer I, and similarly to the provisions made in the case of the top cover to provide a laterally extending flange of excess material, the bottom cover also is provided with a laterally extending flange.

Generally speaking, the top cover and the bottom cover elements are quite similar in form, and made in a quite similar manner, except that the top cover has its concavity extending from the side which does not have the water-proof coating or outer layer of leather, whereas the bottom cover has its concavity extending from its bottom or water-proof side.

The upper non-water-proofed surface of the compositely constructed unitary saddle bottom cover is then coated with the same adhesive material, previously described, and placed with such adhesive coated surface against the adhesively coated bottom surface of the metal frame 2, being telescoped within said frame.

The various parts of my improved saddle are now in proper superposed relation with waterproofed or leather layers disposed both uppermost and lowermost, and with the lower surfaces of the saddle top cover, the body of cushioning material, the metal frame, and the saddle bottom cover, all provided with similarly shaped 'concavities on their lower sides, whereby all parts may be nested each within the bottom concavity of the preceding part, except for the laterally extending flanges of upper and lower covers.

The adhesive'material between all of the parts, where adhesive material is applied as above described, being still at least tacky or more or less fluid, these superposed parts are then put into a press having suitably shaped dies and the parts are placed together to bring the laterally extending flanges of top and bottom covers together, and while so held these flanges are stitched together closely adjacent the peripheral edges of the interiorly disposed metal frame and cushioning material parts, as shown at l2.

The excess material beyond the stitching l2 being trimmed away, this stitching holds the entire saddle, having parts as above described, in proper relationship, and with the cushioning material held under pressure in the space provided for it between the metal frame top and the underside of the top cover to which it becomes adhesively secured.

When so compressed, the foamed latex cushioning material i, being under pressure, will cause lateral portions of the material to press laterally outwardly to completely fill the space between the lateral surfaces of the saddle top cover and the metal frame 2.

The cycle saddle seat, constructed as above describedrhas a property of comfort never before achieved in cycle saddles, so far as I know. this being achieved partly because of the nature of the material, partly because of the enlarged recesses provided in the layer of cushioning material, and partly because of the interconnecting channels or air ducts effecting an increased degree of inter-communication of air between remotely disposed portions of the cushioning material, and largely because of the use of a particular type of adhesive material employed between the various parts, as described.

I have by demonstration proved that the cycle saddle constructed as above is very durable and very much more comfortable in use than any prior saddle of which I have knowledge. 1

I am aware that numerous and extensive departures may be made from the method and construction relating to the saddle as herein described, but which nevertheless come within the purview of my invention.

- I claim:

1. A cycle saddle comprising a frame, a layer of cushioning material on said frame, a pliable cover overlying said cushioning material, means securing the lateral edges of said cover to said frame, said material comprising foamed latex sponge material having a cellular construction with cells thereof relatively inter-communicating, whereby air may be expressed from said cells by pressure imposed on an overlying cover portion, and air drawn therein upon release of .such pressure, and adhesive material adapted to resiliently join contiguous surfaces of said cover and said layer of cushioning material, said layer of cushioning material being provided with spaced recesses extending upwardly from the bottom surface thereof toward its top surface but with the upper wall surface of said recesses being separated from said top surface by a substantial intervening layer of said cushioning material, and air conducting channels interconnecting at least most of said recesses.

2. A bicycle seat or the like comprising a base member which has a seating portion and a nose portion, said nose portion extending forwardly and upwardly from said seating portion, and a sponge rubber pad carried by said base member, said rubber pad being thicker in the portion thereof overlying said seating portion than in the portion thereof overlying said nose portion and gradually tapering in thickness from the rear portion of the pad to the front portion thereof, the under surface of said pad being recessed with the recesses adjacent the rear edge of said pad being deeper than the other recesses in said pad and with the recesses along the transverse center line and the forward portion of the longitudinal center line of the portion of said pad overlying said seating portion being of relatively large diameter.

3. A cycle saddle comprising a frame, a layer of cushioning material on said frame, a cover overlying said cushioning material, means securing the lateral edges of said cover to said frame, said material comprising foamed latex sponge material having a cellular construction with cells thereof relatively intercommunicating whereby air may be expressed from said cells by pressure imposed on said overlying cover portion and air drawn therein upon release of said pressure, said layer of cushioning material being provided with spaced recesses extending upwardly from the bottom surface thereof towards its top surface, but with the upper wall surface of said recesses being separated from said top surface by a substantial intervening layer of said cushioning material, and air conducting channels interconnecting at least most of said recesses.

HAROLD E. KAL'I'ER. 

